Portfolio2017

02
REGGIO
EMILIA
ITALY
BRIEF
Multi-use building serving as a Cultural and Social
Center designed within a new masterplan for the historic
core of Reggio Emilia.
INTENT
To utilize the clues given by the existing fabric of the city
in order to generate a design which seamlessly fits into
the context. At the same time serving the programmatic
needs identified within the urban precinct.
CONTEXT
The Ghiara Church, facing the site from across the piazza,
is described as Reggio’s most important. Its conception
is associated with a miracle involving a boy called
Marchino who couldn’t hear or speak. The boy is said
to have miraculously gained both his voice and hearing
back while praying before a portrait of the Madonna.
The term ghiara comes from the fact that the Cròstolo
stream, with large gravel deposits, used to run where the
church is now built.
CONCEPT
The church is a signifying aspect of not only the site
but the entire city. Utilizing many of the aspects of the
church, the public space is ordered through this device.
The strong axis of the church itself, penetrates through
the site. This axis becomes a key element from which the
space progresses. This axis is received by the auditorium
and sets up the narrative within the project. The ideas
of miracle and spectacle are translated into the cultural
elements of the building, as glowing boxes, within this
otherwise humble building.
The pre-existence of the river on the site also gives
design cues. The original position of the river is a strong
element that brings memory back to the site of the
history of the city. The use of water also gives the oppurtunity
to generate a narrative within the public square,
starting with an area of reflection outside the back of the
church. This fortifies the the idea of axis spanning from
the church to the building as well as providing an area of
tranquility and pause within the space.
11 GIUSEPPE CAROSINI
Site Plan -
Contextual relationship
between site and rear of the
church, generating a new
piazza.